Aircraft-Pavement Interaction in Runway Analysis

A dynamic analysis of stresses and deflections induced by moving vehicles and by linear temperature variations in airport pavements which lie on viscoelastic foundations is presented. The increasing demand for heavier loads and higher speeds has necessitated more realistic modeling of both traveling vehicles and pavements. However, one of the major drawbacks in recent studies regarding dynamic behavior of pavements is that inertia effects of the traveling vehicles are usually neglected. In the present study, a direct numerical method derived from the structural impedance approach is used. The method is sufficiently general to include the complete kinematic relationships that describe the interactions between traveling vehicles and the supporting structures. Here, the algorithm is extended to a simple model developed to sufficiently describe the behavior of airport pavements. An ideal beam supported by springs and dampers simulating subgrade is chosen. The beam is subjected to temperature differentials which cause uplift and warping. Based on this model, several numerical examples are solved in order to identify the factors which influence the pattern and magnitude of deflections and stresses in the pavement.